May 17, 2004

Lane on Empire Zones

County Legislator Mike Lane is quoted in today's Ithaca Journal on the state's Empire Zone program, which has left Tompkins County as one of 11 counties without one. Lane says that "it would be different if only really economically depressed areas were targeted for zones." He also notes that the county's Industrial Development Agency is conservative about handing out tax abatements in any case, something worth considering given recent controversy over Empire Zone abuses. Tompkins County is trying to lease 13 acres of Empire Zone from Schuyler County, but is also trying to get its own acreage.